THE FUTURE REGIONAL COOPERATION UNDER THE REGIONAL COOPERATION COUNCIL AND THE SEECP

Since 1999, the SCSP has been stimulating regional cooperation in SEE as an indispensable tool to fight trans-border crime and corruption. In doing so, the emphasis has been on policy advocacy, the upgrading of national legislation, and on creating regional networks of law enforcers and specialized prosecutors. More recently, emphasis has shifted towards implementing common regional law enforcement activities and on strengthening links with European and other international partners.

With a view to the transition of the SCSP and its initiatives to regional ownership and the creation of the Regional Cooperation Council to supervise regional cooperation processes initiated by the SCSP, the SCSP Regional Table meeting, earlier this week in Bucharest, has discussed the future of the SCSP’s regional initiatives, including the anti-organised crime initiative (SPOC), the anti-corruption initiative (SPAI), the Police Forum initiative, and integrated border management (Ohrid Border Process).

Your attention and support is needed for these regional processes. Regional cooperation, to be successful, requires that the experts involved receive a clear mandate and material support from the political and higher executive levels. Your attention and support is also needed for the following:

1. SECI Regional Center for Combating Trans-Border Crime.

The SECI Center needs to be developed into a strong regional partner for Europol, complementing and in no way duplicating Europol’s tasks and mandate. Support from all SECI member states is needed for that. The EU, Europol and our transatlantic partners have already agreed to support the strengthening of the Center, financially and with their expertise. I am requesting you to personally monitor this process and to make available the financial and personnel resources which are needed from the side of the regional partners.

2. SEE Chiefs of Police Association (SEPCA)

The role of Chiefs of Police is of paramount importance for the effectiveness of national law enforcement. To make regional law enforcement cooperation more successful, SEPCA was created some four years ago, with international support. SEPCA has developed into an important partner for the SCSP Police Forum over the last year, and SEPCA would seem a good partner for the future RCC as well. And also for the SECI Center. In fact, it has been suggested that SEPCA should be further developed into the SEE counterpart for the EU Chiefs of Police Task Force (EU PCTF). I must say that I personally see great merit in such a scenario. Why? As the primary managers of national law enforcement activities, the national police chiefs should also play a more central role in directing regional police cooperation. That has also become SEPCA’s ambition.

I am requesting the full support from all SEE Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs for this. In particular for giving SEPCA a legal status of its own, comparable to that of their EU  counterpart, the EU PCTF. I am also asking you to provide the funding needed for SEPCA’s functioning as a regional institution, which, in my view, should be modest. But most important of all would be, again, your personal interest and support. I have seen so many SEE ministerial statements during the last few years on the fight against organized crime and corruption, that I have lost count. I am convinced that such statements would considerably gain, when they would be much more operationally oriented and when they would set specific targets. AND when they would set specific tasks for regional law enforcement tools such as SEPCA. Please, ministers, use SEPCA more systematically for setting specific targets for regional cooperation, and request your Police Chiefs to keep you informed regularly about progress.

If SEPCA indeed would be strengthened in this way, SEPCA might also prove to be a good successor of the SCSP Police Forum initiative, giving it also a central place in cooperation with international partners from beyond the region.

3. Witness Protection

While SEE countries are shaping up their national legislation in the Justice and Security sector they also try to establish systems to protect witnesses and collaborators of Justice. This protection becomes crucially important in the fight against organised crime.

Due to the small size of many SEE countries effective witness protection which includes relocation can be difficult.

The SCSP anti-organised crime Secretariat (SPOC) has already been looking into this field quite closely by compiling the witness protection legislations of SEE countries and most of the SECI member countries

A CD ROM on “Witness Protection Legislation in SEE, Best Practices and Guidelines” has been completed and been distributed widely. It is meant as a reference tool for all those in the law enforcement community who are working in this sensitive field. It includes the relevant national legislation of the countries of Southeast Europe in English language as well as the practices and guidelines issued by international organizations such as the UN, CoE and EU bodies. The SPOC Secretariat has also made on different occasions presentations on the issue.

The Secretariat has recently assisted the South Eastern European Prosecutor’s Advisory Group (SEEPAG) in bringing this topic on the agenda for regional prosecutors and to discuss a regional witness relocation agreement.

4. Integrated Border Management

On 8-9 November 2006, Western Balkan countries and partner organisations involved in the Ohrid Process on Border Security and Management (EC, OSCE, NATO and SP) gathered in Podgorica at the fourth Review meeting and officially agreed upon the prolongation of the process for one more year, until the end of 2007. They also adopted a Roadmap for 2006-2007, which reflects the tailor-made approach that will prevail in the coming period. Specific areas of work are identified for each country in this document.

5. Migration, Asylum, Refugee Regional Initiative (MARRI)

Migration is one of the big political issues both for SEE and the EU. The MARRI has developed into a regional instrument to address practical migration issues of relevance for SEE and EU, and which need to be resolved to prepare SEE countries for European integration. From this perspective, the 2007 MARRI working programme has been very well designed. But, stronger involvement and leadership from the Western Balkan countries are needed to use MARRI’s full potential. I am calling on you, Ministers, to provide the political support which is needed.